CONDUCT PROBLEMS IN CHILDHOOD AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

The associations between parental and teacher reports of conduct probl ems at age 8 and a range of psychosocial outcomes at age 18 (e.g., edu cational achievement, juvenile offending, substance abuse/dependence, mental health problems) were examined in a birth cohort of New Zealand children. Young people who showed conduct problems at age 8 had eleva ted rates of educational underachievement, juvenile offending, substan ce abuse/dependence, and mental health problems at age 18. Adjustment: for a range of confounding factors, including social disadvantage, at tentional difficulties, and IQ, substantially reduced the associations between early conduct problems and educational outcomes at age 18. Ho wever, after adjustment for confounding factors, young people with con duct problems at age 8 had higher rates of juvenile offending, substan ce abuse/dependence, and mental health problems at age 18. Subsequent analyses that examined factors contributing to continuities and discon tinuities in behavior identified poor parental attachment, early subst ance use behaviors, and the extent to which the individual affiliated with delinquent or substance-using peers during adolescence as being a ssociated with continuities in disruptive behaviors.